I love a good stack, so much so that when we were designing my wedding bands (yes, bands plural) I had a band made in white gold, yellow gold, rose gold and platinum. Granted my bands were only a millimeter wide (teeny, tiny), but I do love them!
I was talking to my friend, jewelry designer Sofia Kaman (queen of the stack) today, she just finished her re-brand and the herculean task of a new site re-design, she’s celebrating with helping you get started with your own stack! I know it’s the 11th hour to mention this but they aren’t doing the drawing until tomorrow afternoon (Sunday, March 7!) All you need to do is regram the above image, tag @sofiakaman and use the hashtag #skstylegiveaway to be entered to win a $500 gift certificate towards your own stack! Beware though before you visit her site be prepared to be majorly tempted, Sofia has some pretty, crazy amazing designs that would look good on your finger forever. I chose some of my faves, here, here, here and here, but believe me I have a laundry list of many more!
Speaking of re-brand, and I KNOW Sofia is going to kill me, but we have had heated discussions about this and I am convinced I am right on this one and I want to hear your feedback. Sofia was adamant that her name follow with ‘fine jewels’, I was adamant that it be ‘fine jewelry’. Sofia said that ‘fine jewelry’ sounded stuffy to her, where I believe ‘fine jewels’ doesn’t sound high-end and sounds more like she is selling loose gemstones. ‘Fine jewelry’ is timeless, classic, it also clarifies that she is selling ‘fine’ versus ‘faux’. What do you think? Which sounds better to you for gorgeous, (fine) jewelry? And btw, it has no bearing on who will win, I just want her to go into this re-brand as successful as possible! Good luck everyone!
P.S. The hand lettering was done by the very talented Torrie Asai, who for the record is not a professional letterer, but boy she could be!
Those rings are so gorgeous-love!
As for the debate–I’d have to side with “fine jewelry.” For something a bit less stuffy, I’d pick another word altogether, “fine adornments” or some such thing.
By the way, the fact that she doesn’t want to sound stuffy makes me love her all the more! :)
I like your suggestion Amy! She is a wonderful young woman and super talented, I want this re-brand to really help her become a more recognized designer, she deserves it!
Tristan!
You are spot on!
Assure your amazingly talented friend that “fine jewelry” is a common term for jewelry crafted using only precious metals and stones.
Long ago I was a jewelry buyer for Frederick and Nelson, a wonderful carriage trade store in Seattle in the building where Nordstrom now resides. I bought “Costume”: both designer & fashion, “Bridge”: sterling and semi – precious stones and “Fine”: 14K – 18K gold, platinum ( precious metals ) and precious stones ( diamonds, emeralds, rubies, sapphires etc…)
Sophia is an amazing talent. I just about died when I spied her pave’ cracked bands!
~Lynne
w/L
Thank you Lynne for your expertise! I asked a few people and they thought ‘fine jewels’ sounded like she wa selling the loose gemstones and I was wondering if that was what you’d infer as well being from a buyer background?
Definitely “fine jewelry” describes her beautiful, intricate work. ‘Fine jewels’ evokes loose gems.
hi, I will just chime in and say that I think that “jewels” sounds more like a reference to the gem stones than the entire jewelry piece. But I like the Jewels type that J. Crew uses. Hmmm. Beautiful work, though!
Lol, she sent an email yesterday and is still stuck on ‘jewels’, I am sure she will still be a success no matter what but it definitely doesn’t feel high end to me!
Thanks Lexi! J.Crew always has great branding, it’s used to describe costume jewelry and very large/ornate pieces, which I feel works but for my most treasured pieces like my wedding rings (something you would get from Sofia) I want to buy from a fine jeweler and I want fine jewelry, not jewels, I will forever be adamant on this, lol.
gorgeous rings! i am weighing in on jewels/jewelry … i too think jewels as loose gems (parents used to have a ‘rock shop’ a long long time ago) … jewelry sounds like finery and not at all stuffy to me … just my 2 cents … :)
Thank you Dawn so nice of you to weigh in and visit!
Tristan, thank you so very much for sharing my work on your lovely blog! You know that I love your tireless pursuit of beauty and branding perfection!!
Thank you for the “debate” and also for everyone’s thoughts. It is time that I must simply speak up in defense of Jewels! Aside for the fact that I love the way it sounds (what a difference two little syllables can make!) I feel that Fine Jewels more accurately describes what it is that I strive to do:
1) Jewels: by definition
-a cut and polished precious stone; gem.
-a fashioned ornament for personal adornment, especially of a precious metal set with gems.
-a precious possession.
-a person or thing that is treasured, esteemed, or indispensable.
I especially love connection to something treasured and beloved. The notion that one’s wedding ring or a pair of fine earrings might become a family heirloom is more fully conveyed with the word “Jewels”
2) Both in our boutique on online, we feature a carefully curated selection vintage pieces. So often with antique pieces, they are more than a sum of their parts, but their age and character make them a jewel of the past.
3) And finally, we actually do source unique diamonds and gems for our clients! So why not reflect that as well in a tag line.
For all these reasons, I feel Fine Jewels describes what I do so much more completely than Jewelry!
Thanks again for all your feedback and Tristan, hopefully you can look past this little tag line!
XO Sofia
“Cool Jewels”…from a cool designer! LOVE, the stack!
Love your rings. Very similar to what I had. Very sad about mine cause my set was stolen in my house entertaining friends